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The Basilica San Pietro.
Not one square inch is unadorned. |
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| There is more to Rome than the
ruins of the Forum and the art of the Vatican. There are lesser known
churches and; oh, yes trattoria, taverna and ristorante. |
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Pasta with clams,
prosciutto with melon and figs at L'Cantuccio (too expensive for what you
get.)
Great Jewish artichokes and lamb at La
Taverna del Ghetto.
Tried gnocchi with black truffle sauce at La
Campania -- very good.
Gelato at several places. "Blue
Ice" was good. |
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The Basilica was not too crowded;
however there was always a risk of running into someone while gawking at
the roof. |
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The Michelangelo "La
Pieta" is now behind glass. It is still very impressive. This Pieta
is one of three sculpted by Michelangelo. The second is in Florence and
the third in Milan, |
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The Vatican Museum continues the
idea that every surface is covered with art. Several areas were being
restored with full traffic going underneath the work. Large nets were
pulled across the room to catch falling debris. |
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| Many of the galleries have more
interesting ceilings than the objects on the walls. I assume that many
people had a stiff neck by the end of the day. |
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| The Sistine Chapel was the only
location where cameras were prohibited and security agents enforced the
ban. It seems that Fugi Film owns the exclusive right to the image. They
paid for the last restoration. |
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The exit from the museum was down
the spiral staircase designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932. |
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As we were leaving,
there was an interesting view through an open window. This is an area that
is closed to the public. It is a very attractive setting.
After all of the walking a simple dinner at
da Baffetto seemed in order. Pizza and salad. |
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The Pantheon is one of the oldest
usable structures in Rome. It was built around 72 AD. The 43 meter dome
sits on 6 meter thick walls.
The dome was honeycombed to reduce weight. It has a 8.9 meter skylight
oculus.
All of the statuary has been collected from other sites. Nothing
original remains. |
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Its time to leave Rome. One last pass through
the Campo de Fiori Market and a quiet stroll down a viccola then off to
the car rental agency and the autostrada.
(No time for pictures -- we were the slowest car on the road at 135
k/h.) |
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